New York comptroller: Declare a moratorium on gambling expansion

Joel Stashenko

Sunday, Feb. 6, 2000 | 12:49 p.m.

ALBANY, N.Y. - New York should allow no further expansion of gambling until it weighs the costs and benefits of the Lottery, casinos and the other forms of gambling it already has, state Comptroller H. Carl McCall said.

The state needs to "take a breath" to make an accounting of compulsive gambling and other downsides before contemplating adding more lottery games or casinos, McCall said Saturday.

"A moratorium will give the state a chance to focus attention and to educate the public about the choices government is making," the comptroller said. "The state shouldn't be introducing any new gaming until all the issues are addressed."

McCall released a study Saturday in which he urged Gov. George Pataki and the state Legislature to agree on procedures for the establishment of Indian casinos and to increase funding for programs to help compulsive gamblers.

In addition, the comptroller said the state has to study the implications of new forms of technology-driven gambling. He questioned, for instance, the implications of the Albany region's Off-Track Betting Corp.'s plans to allow non-New Yorkers to bet on horse races over the Internet.

Pataki, a Republican, has renewed his call this year for the state to enter the multi-state compact which operates the big-jackpot Powerball lottery game.

In addition, the possibility of Mohawk Indians establishing a casino in the Catskills is believed to be one of the topics the Pataki administration and Indian tribes are discussing along with Indian land claims and the payment of state tobacco and gasoline taxes by Indian vendors.

McCall, a Democrat, cited a study from the state Council on Problem Gambling which estimated that compulsive gambling increased by 74 percent from 1986-96. He said enough is simply not known about the effects of Quick Draw and other forms of state-sponsored gaming on compulsive gambling to create even more games to wager money on.

"For most New Yorkers, gambling is an enjoyable form of entertainment," McCall said. "For others, gambling is a problem that can destroy families and bankrupt lives. Research shows that if you increase gambling opportunities, you increase problem gambling."

McCall also said there are too many underaged gamblers in New York and that the state has done little to investigate the more than 1,000 gambling sites on the Internet and the effect they're having on New Yorkers, especially young ones.

McCall said his call for a moratorium on new forms of gambling is consistent with the findings and recommendations released last year by the National Commission on Gambling.

Pataki's office said it had not seen the McCall report and didn't have any interest in seeing it.

"If it's from H. Carl, it's the same old-same old," Pataki spokeswoman Suzanne Morris said. "Long on rhetoric and short on facts."

McCall is a potential rival of Pataki's for governor in 2002.

Patricia Lynch, spokeswoman for state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, said Assembly Democrats would look at McCall's study. She said Silver has favored an expansion of non-Indian casinos in economically depressed areas of the state and has "concerns" about Powerball, but is not necessarily opposed to New York getting into the game.

The executive director of the state Council on Problem Gambling, Laura Letson, said her group has long been saying many of the same things McCall advocated Saturday.

"We believe that the comptroller's recommendations have substantial merit and are something that is certainly worthy of consideration by the governor and the Legislature," she said.